1846/Noodle Incident, Redux

Noodle Incident, Redux
Date of Scene:	21 August 2016
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	A call of help from Naru (or at least Naru's tracker that goes ping!), brings the cavalry in to cope with a pack of Wraiths more effectively than Honey Badger Naru. The noodle cart never knew what hit it, but the overwhelming opinion is that Wraiths suck.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Kyouko Sakura, Homura Akemi, Kunzite, Usagi Tsukino

---

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru had plans for this evening. Rather lovely plans, at that. Plans that involved self indulgent junk food, and painting. Possibly even some music to fuel the painting into something that could be shown to strangers, and that was neither horrifyingly dark and depressing, nor filled with random energy that may or may not ultimately try and eat your soul.

Plans such as these require supplies. Self indulgent junk food, just for starters, and to judge by the bulky package that Naru is carrying with her, she needed new canvases too. And paint. And those brushes were on /sale/. And maybe just a couple new pencils.

Someone probably should not be let loose alone in the art store after a long week and a desire to 'just pick up a couple things.'

The trip home isn't all that long, a little convoluted perhaps, but not unduly long. Get off the bus here. Cut through this little urban park, cross over here, around the corner and down behind these shops and that's about all there is to it. The real challenge is managing not to drop anything while keeping one's phone out to collect the pokestop in the little park, and the associated pokemon that tend to hang out there.

Which is how Naru comes to be paused in a tiny urban park, not really all that far from her house, paying more attention to her phone than to the rest of the world. It takes a few moments before she really notices that the growing dim of evening is added to by wispy bits of mist swirling.

It is not uncommon for Naru to text someone when things have gone pear shaped, although its usually after the fact and informational. It is highly uncommon, unheard of really, for Naru to just call for help. Fortunately, the little tracker that Ami provided has picked up on the fact that things are Not Right and going 'ping' off to those who might come and help even the odds a bit. Or a lot.

The tiny urban park is a dream ambush point, with only two exits amongst buildings and a fairly open space in the middle with a few benches, a statue to someone most notable becuase now he's a pokestop, and little else. There was nowhere to run when wraiths came in both exits, either more clever than expected, or just lucky on the tactics. Naru starts towards one exit, finding it blocked with wraiths, moves to dart for the other, and is denied. "Oh SERIOUSLY!?" She calls at them, her voice edged with frustration, irritation and some degree of resignation. With flight no longer on the table, Naru turns to the other option. Fight.

"Nope! No. Nuh uh. So much not on your dead lives going on here!" Canvases scatter on the ground as Naru drops her package and hefts her bookbag, looking around at the wraiths converging upon her. "The whole pack of you can just go to HELL!" She almost growls, that resignation not lasting long in the face of a long and crappy week and a Naru who has Had. Enough. "Stay OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Book bags are not exactly a +1 masterwork weapon of finest quality, but when a Seriously Pissed Naru is attempting to beat the almighty notliving snot out of a quartet of wraiths with one, it works surprisingly well. Which is to say that it works at all. She's not /winning/ by any stretch, but inroads are being made. Slowly.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko arrives like a crimson lightning bolt from the heavens.

    A downward streak of red light, followed by a crack as she hits the ground directly in front of Naru, in a crouch, dust blowing out from around her in a nimbus along with a swirl of power- not an attack, more like a push of magical energy, which disperses the Wraith's miasma from at least a few feet around Naru. She hasn't been fighting Wraiths log (compared to Witches) but this is something she has learned helps. Of course, it will just creep back in unless the source is dealt with.

    Straightening, a stick of Pocky hanging from the corner of her mouth, Kyouko spins her spear around from it's position resting over her shoulder and bangs the butt into the paved path. "Well, Naru-chan," She says, her tone almost jovial. "I tol' ya if ya just lemme know I'd come save yer bacon. Finally I get to make good on my promise."

    She had been nearby anyway when the "Naru Alert" had come across her fancy new communicator thing- this isn't far from her conbenie. She wanted to help Naru, and killing Wraiths is fundamentally profitable for her. This is a situation Kyouko has triple-reason to throw herself into.

    "Now, if you'll just hang on a 'tic, we can get you home." And then she's darting forward, spear exploding into a whip-like length of chain and haft as she spins it around again, sending the pointy end lashing out towards the nearest Wraith.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    No one can see the cocky grin on Homura's face, or the mysterious glint in her eyes, as she skips from rooftop to rooftop looking for prey. Life is great right now, and she's feeling like she's on top of the whole damn world. Why? Who knows? Homura doesn't really tell people things, but as long as people have known her she has never been this happy.

    When she starts to feel the null darkness that she has learned to associate with Wraiths, she cheerfully mumbles something along the lines of, "Lunchtime!" in a singsongy voice. It isn't until she starts getting closer, looking down from her perch to see one Naru Osaka hopelessly cornered by Wraiths, that she starts getting a bit more serious. Then Kyouko comes in like a red lightning bolt and Homura purses her lips.

    Whatever. Her presence just makes the fight easier, and gives more options to pull Naru out without ignoring the Wraiths.

    As Kyouko goes for the ones in front of them, Homura decides to focus on the Wraiths outside of the spear-girl's reach.

    The first notice she makes of her presence is the loud report of a long rifle that is way too big for a 14 year old girl. Hypervelocity rounds aim for the crowd of Wraiths coming in from the far entrance as Homura tries to stem the flow.

    Homura keeps one eye on the other Puella veteran and the muggle-plus below, just in case they need a timely intervention.

Kunzite has posed:
"I trust you won't mind assistance too much." There is no flare of shadow heralding Kunzite's voice, no teleport signature. He's only there, a pale silhouette on one of the buildings in the direction from which Naru came. The report of Homura's rifle calls his attention Homura's way for an instant, scanning for any sign of pink light near her, of blue and steel near Kyouko --

Just the forms of chaos he's more accustomed to, then. Very well. Homura has the farthest wraiths. Kyouko has the direct attention of one, and the likely attention of two more. That leaves one with its attention on Naru.

He draws his hands together, forming an angle straight out of the Shitennou's quartered circle, and a coruscating light the pink-gold of clouds at dawn scythes across that fourth wraith in the diagonal opposite its wrappings, scouring at false-flesh, burning at bone.

Naru Osaka has posed:
The Wraiths are not delighted by the inturruptions. They have a delicious snack all nicely cornered, all full of tasty energy and emotion and potential. Suddenly there's more prey, but not easy prey. The miasma swirls and lessons as Kyouko brushes it out to the further ends of the park, and the Wraith right in front of her turns its bony attention to her, coming towards her with outstretched arms, dodging around the bulk of her blow, the whiplike end catching around one of its arms, but it doesn't seem to mind all that much as its shook back a bit before heading for her again.

Further on the edges of the park, the Wraiths there turns towards Homura and there's the implication of a grin on their bony visages. The rounds from her gun rip into the first easily, sending bits of cloak and darkness and spattering wraith over that bit of the park. It certainly slows them down from heading towards her, spreading out to approach side by side towards her position, one bare tatters of itself.

There's a Wraith that is still unwilling to give up on its tasty Naru snack, still trying to keep a hold of her, in spite of flying book bag, and more importantly, bracing itself against the agressive exfoliation that Kunzite is providing. It stumbles back a bit, trying to gather bits of itself to go after Naru again, even with protectors.

There has never been a time when Naru has been more glad to see people coming to her rescue, although there is little of that emotion on her face. She's still pissed, pissed enough not to be hiding behind Kunzite where it might be sane or sensible, or hiding behind Kyouko or generally staying out of the way. No, instead she's still trying to help beat a wraith with her bookbag. "Give. It. Back."

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko tears into the Wraiths like a red and white whirlwind, her spear never ceasing it's motion, the whip-like nature of it meaning it almost seems to move with a will of its own as she ducks and rolls, coming back to her feet behind the Wraith and between the other two, the spear whirling overhead and slashing into all three at the same time.

     A wild, exuberant grin bares a single fang, stick of Pocky somehow still intact as she then turns, her spear snapping back together into a single shaft as she takes a step and hurls it straight through the heart of the nearest Wraith, its length exploding into red light so it passes through the creature like a laserbolt to slam into the brick wall behind it.. then vanish only to re-appear in her hand a moment later.

    She hears the retort of Homura's rifle and her head snaps around, zeroing in on the other Puella as if guided by some sixth sense (which is likely actually the case- like senses like, after all). She makes a faint 'tch' noise, but supposes she can share her prey if it ensures greater safety for Naru.

    Which is even further reinforced as that blast of pinkish energy envelopes another Wraith. She senses Kunzite as well, though she can't see him from her angle, and laughs softly even as she turns to dart towards the nearest Wraith. "Shoulda known I wouldn't be the only one to show.."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Kunzite's here too, and Homura glances down to wonder if he was hanging out with Kyouko or if he just happened to show up. It's not really her business either way, and she hopes his presence makes it less likely that Homura and Kyouko will come to blows.

    "Yes! Please! Get in a line!" shouts Homura to the Wraiths. "Just make a big freaky wall that I can't possibly miss!"

    Yeah, wow, she is cocky today.

    The Wraiths are advancing on her position, but none of them are firing lasers at her or anything. She considers whether or not she should adjust tactics, but for now she's in a pretty good position for a ranged fighter.

    She puts her rifle back into her shield, and then holds her shield horizontal. No less than five RPGs fall out from her shield, and she picks up and fires each of them, one after another, at the three Wraiths coming at her. She's very precise with those shots, not hitting the other people, but maaaaybe being more than a little rough on the landscaping.

    Kyouko isn't spared much more than a glance, but Homura is aware of her. She's also aware that Kyouko isn't coming after her.

Kunzite has posed:
Trying to beat up a Wraith with a bookbag isn't all that different from trying to beat up Fezzik with a pillow, to borrow a comparison from the film Usagi just put Kunzite through. It gets in the way, but it doesn't do much damage. Kunzite gauges the chances of a second shot doing as well, but Kyouko moves and Naru's not so predictable herself. Instead, he draws his hands apart, his blade coming into one as he leaps down from the roof he's perched on, timing the movement with the wraith's stumble so as to land in the space Naru's trying to keep clear --

His sword isn't magical in and of itself. By itself, it's no more help against these things than Naru's bookbag is. But he's been learning new tricks himself, the last few months. This time he doesn't layer his shadows over the blade, though. This time he channels energy into it: his own pink and Mamoru's borrowed gold mingling again, fiery and bright, changing the mundane weapon into one that does have virtue against these monsters.

His smile isn't far from Kyouko's when he slashes at the creature, aiming to shatter bones, to break it down more quickly than it can assemble itself. And to take 'reach for Naru' off the list of things it has appropriate appendages to do.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
This is how Usagi's day has gone so far:

Awkward lunch with daddy. Sheer sense of Panic at Mamo's attack. Beating up Lacrima. Cuddling on the couch post attack with a nearly catatonic Mamoru, a Kunzite, and the Princess Bride.

(Usagi's not exactly sure what happens when or where, but perhaps Mamoru took some sort of silent pity on Kunzite during Usagi's movie marathon choices and sent him away just as the end credits began? Usagi was too busy nurturing her heart bubbles over the amazingness that is The Princess Bride.)

And she's dozing rather peacefully about halfway through some movie she's already forgotten the name of when suddenly...she isn't.

And there's a moment of sleepy, befuddled confusion that ends with Mamoru practically ordering her to go, and it's then she's like 'yeah, okay, what? Ah crap. NARU!'

So it's a Very Grumpy Moon on the scene. So grumpy, in fact, that her joy of seeing Friends already there isn't expressed!

She lands, a bit further away than she would have liked from Naru. When she actually takes a look at the wraiths, she's as unnerved as ever.

"EEK!" That's, um, a battle cry.

Tiny parks or no, park denizens are usually hungry. And it's the weekend.

It's an abandoned ramen cart, its owner probably hiding in the bushes just over 'there,' she decides to use as a battering ram, yelling out a battle cry of 'ARRRG!' as she charges headlong toward Naru. Well, those wraiths, anyway.

And in the back of her mind, part of her hopes there's enough ramen left for a post battle snack.

Hey, she's a growing girl.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is plenty of chaos in the small park, with Kyouko tumbling around and tearing into Wraiths with her whip, the heavy explosions of Homura's RPGs, and the collateral damage to the benches and various walls that come with them. Kunzite getting into melee range with his sword only adds to the mess of confusion, especially as Naru continues to forsake what approximates anything approaching sanity, swinging bookbag and fists and kicking at anything in range. Generally Wraiths. Ideally. Fortunately she doesn't do much damage to people in henshin either.

The chaos is not eased when Moon arrives and plays Bowling for Wraiths with a Ramen Cart. Like you do.

There are noodles EVERYWHERE. There are noodles dripping off the extended arm of Wraiths, which become chopped noodle wraith goop all over the ground when swords and spears get involved and start ending up with chunks of wraith falling off skeletons.

One Wraith collapses under the weight of puella attacks, having met both multiple shots from Homura and Kyouko's whirling spear of chain link doom, and drops a few Grief Cube croutons on the noodle dish from hell that the park is becoming.

The Wraith that caught the full on noodle cart experience rises though noodles to further attack towards Kunzite and Naru and now Moon.

The two remaining Wraiths turn as one towards Homura to shower lightning bolts in her direction, rebuttal to the RPG argument.

Wraiths are probably going to regret ignoring Kyouko and her spear, and have no worries about ignoring Honey Badger Naru.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko pauses after Wraith-dissolution to kick a few Grief Cubes up into her hand, snatching them out of the air and making them vanish into a pocket. Then she turns, running back towards where Kunzite defends Naru. On the way, she leaps up and over Moon's noodle-cart ram, snagging a bowl off of the ledge on the way, though she only has time to shove one mouthful of noodles into her mouth with a finger before she tosses it aside.

    "Hi, Moon!" She calls almost cheerfully to the berzerking Princess once she's swallowed, and then she's leaping over Kunzite, actually landing for a moment on his shoulder, her weight seeming nonexistant as whatever magic allows Puella to bound around like maniacs does it's work. "Mind givin' me a boost, nii-chan?" She asks, rakish grin included, before leaping up and forward at the perfect angle for Kunzite to do just that.

    In the process, she laughs towards Naru, "Keep it up, Naru-chan, I think you're intimidating 'em!" It might be taken for mocking, but her tone of voice is appreciative. Girl's got moxie, that's for sure.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Kunzite gets a brief glance from Homura as she notices the sword. He's doing something similar to what Homu does with her bullets. Huh. Neat.

    Then someone else comes onto the field, and Homura has something a little more obvious to smile about, because she actually is awake enough (and very non-grumpy) to be legitimately happy that friends are here. "Moon-chan!"

    Even with mitigating circumstances, it's a bit of a non-sequitur that Homura is actively more cheerful than Sailor Moon today.

    When she hears Usagi's 'battlecry', Homura glances at the Wraiths, and then back at Usagi with a tilted head. "Don't give me that. You're stronger than them!" Then Usagi is going at them with a ramen cart and Homura has to stop herself from laughing because they're in a fight right now.

    The battlefield is soon covered in noodles. One noodle even makes it up to Homura's perch, slapping against and sticking to the side of her otherwise immaculate hair. She doesn't have time to remove it before lightning shoots in her direction-- or maybe she does, because when she vanishes from her perch and reappears behind the Wraiths the stray noodle is nowhere to be found.

    Black almost-metal bow appears in her hand. Purple glowing arrow forms as she pulls back an invisible bowstring. The top of her bow flares with a purple fire as she aims directly at the backs of the Wraiths who once pursued her. "Over here!" she shouts, to draw their attention. "Think fast!"

    She looses the arrow at one, keeping her eye on the other.

Kunzite has posed:
Noodles are relevant primarily in that part of the back of Kunzite's mind is absently relieved Zoisite isn't here, and another part is trying to estimate Kyouko's reaction. He'll worry about anything dripping ... later. In the mean time, it's categorized more or less with the thumps from Naru's bookbag swinging into his back --

Well, there's Kyouko's reaction. He's not Nephrite, but out of the five of the boys, Kunzite's likely second place. Which means that he can throw (more or less literally) his strength behind Kyouko's spear as well as hers --

Going for the skulls has seemed the most effective. And kebab goes fine with noodles.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Homura and Kyouko do get a sleepy wave! And a smile! Progress! (Well, more intention for it in the case of Kyouko! It's hard to wave when pushing a cart.)

A wail rips from her throat at the sight of noodle eviscera everywhere. "What are you--! You just--! DIDN'T YOUR MAMA TELL YOU NEVER TO PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD?!"

She takes the remaining, unspoiled bowls of ramen and slips them in her space pocket. She should have done that beforehand!

Then, remaining food safe, she grips the handles of the rickety old cart, lifts it off the ground, and spins in place for a moment before letting it go at the wraith.

Now, unfortunately she doesn't have super human strength, but it's definetly at 'able to lift a cart for a few seconds for this at least maybe' so unfortunately she doesn't get enough momentum to just poof the guy like a sack of flour.

But again, the cart is heavy, so it's not exactly gonna tickle the wraith, either.

"Seriously! First you attack my Naru-chan, and now this gross act of nutritional abuse! BOTH ACTS ARE UNFORGIVABLE! IN THE NAME OF THE MOON I WILL PUNISH YOU!"

It should be noted that it won't be lost on her later how she's given her justice speech after she attacks.

Naru Osaka has posed:
By rights and technicalities, the noodles were /fine/ until SOMEONE decided to use it to bowl for Wraiths, and then as a club to smack a Wraith around. Or perhaps a bit more like a noodle cart windshield wiper, sliding over the slick noodle goop to thump into the skeletal figure in the robe, sending it off balance for its pursuit of Kunzite and Naru, and prompting it to rise up out of the goop, and pretty much paint a target upon itself, nice and centred, for Kyouko's Kunzite enhanced jump.

The Wraiths arent' overly quick to turn, and it would appear that 'think fast' isn't in their vocabulary. The lack of conversation does say that not a whole lot is /in/ their vocabulary. Homura's arrow thumps into the back of that Wraith's head, prompting it to slowly start to dissolve from bony into tasty tasty cubes, fluttering down into the goop. The other Wraith turns, sending a spray of lightning as it does, over Moon, Naru, Kunzite and finally towards Homura as part of its sweep of electrical attack, only missing out on Kyouko by virtue of her erratic leaping.

Naru isn't dodging much of anything. She's not really paying a whole lot of attention, focused only on channeling her anger into anything she can put it into, and the snap of lightning only seems to make her more ticked, if such a thing is possible. She's trying to follow the Wraith, sliding on noodles as she does.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko isn't so much dodging as she is flying straight towards the nearest Wraith, boosted by the not-insubstantial power of Kunzite. Her long ponytail streaming out behind her, she whips her arm back, and her spear again fragments into a flexible whip of chain and wood as, rather than impacting the Wraith, she flies right by over its shoulder..

    And twists the chain-spear such that it snaps out and wraps around the Wraith's neck. Tiny little spearheads suddenly burst into being all along its length, turning the whole thing into essentially a huge chainsaw chain, and as she falls to the ground behind the wraith, she pulls, hard, and with a sound like the most awful tearing paper, attempts to garrot the head right off the damn Wraith before her feet once again thump onto the pavement.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    The Wraith that Homura watches is still standing, sending lighting at nearly everyone. As someone inclined to tank and protect in team fights, Homura's first thought goes to Naru, but Kunzite is closer to her and while Homura's shield is pretty good Kunzite has a lot more defensive options than she does. He's also probably inclined to make Naru a top priority. At least that's what Homura assumes.

    Noodly chaos rains over the park, seemingly somehow more destructive (or at least more messy) than the rockets that Homura was using just moments before. The black-haired veteran isn't even worried about the mess aside from maybe that it'll be a funny story to share later.

    Even if Naru is taken care of, Homura still has to worry about her own defense, and while she may be the last to be fired upon that lightning still comes after her. She raises her shield arm, magical attacks battering against her flaring purple barrier, as purple eyes peer over the shield and at the Wraith who dares to attack her.

    Some of the fallen Grief Cubes vanish around now. Not all of them, just enough for Homura to consider it 'her share'. Both Kyouko and Homura have mouths to feed after all, and their claim is roughly equal.

    With the lightning over, Homura raises her bow once again, firing a solid magical arrow towards the head of the monster. There's no need to hold back against such creatures.

Kunzite has posed:
The Wraith's opening its mouth to howl is enough of a cue for Kunzite -- he half-steps in front of Naru, turning and pulling his cape around to provide a shield for both of them from its bolts. This ... almost works. Mostly works. Because Naru is not cooperating, and it is not possible to guard anyone effectively if they're not cooperating.

He glances back her way, and -- yes. She's still determinedly trying to stagger and slip past him, bookbag swinging.

Which is why he reaches out, puts an arm around her waist, and picks her up by it, pulling her off the ground and back against his side. This is likely to get his side elbowed, and probably punched, and a bookbag swung at his leg; he's careful not to let it get anywhere near his knee while it's bearing weight.

(But holding one Naru that way is considerably less painful than separating pre-teen Shitennou was, once upon a time. She can't set him on fire, she doesn't have control over the energy she's generating and can't channel it more than sporadically into enhancing her strength, and, most important, she doesn't yet know where to aim...)

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon wants to cry as mutilated noodle corpses just splat all over her. Such a waste, such a shame! How could she have been so careless! It's the innocent food that always suffers the rash decisions of those with power!

Cubes that happen to land near her she picks up, not intending to keep them but afraid they'll be stepped on.

There's been enough mindless violence toward foodstuff already! And while technically not food, it's the same principal!

And she's throwing her tiara and just...cries.

(Because it's easier to cry over destroyed food than it is other things sometimes.)

So, wailing about destroyed food and awkward dads and basically being incomprehensible, she bumrushes forward, tiara in her fist, ready to just catfight.

Naru Osaka has posed:
The crunch that comes after Kyouko quite literally tears it apart is a fairly horrible sound, of snapping bones and the sickening sound of grinding that is just cringeworthy. The head of THAT wraith lands as a grief cube, perched in a feat of unlikely gravity upon a undamaged bowl of noodles, like a cherry on an ice cream sundae. The rest of the cubes scatter into the mess.

Naru actually growls at Kunzite as he bodily hefts her off the ground. She's abandoned her bookbag as a weapon, by and large, but there's plenty of protest with fists and elbows and kicking, and a few of them even land against Kunzite. He might even feel a couple of them later, she IS determined.

There is but a single Wraith looking exceptionally ragged and outnumbered and there's a Sailor Moon with a tiara rushing at it and a Homura aiming to feed it another arrow. Which one hits first is a bit of a mystery, but between the two, the Wraith is very shortly cubed and served. Over noodles.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    Kyouko lands lightly on her feet after decapitating the Wraith, spinning about, her chain-spear whipping in an arc in the same movement before snapping back together again as she straightens, leaning it casually back over her shoulder and surveying the carnage.

    She grins, lopsided and fangy. She likes what she sees, as Moon and Homura together make short work of the last Wraith. The Pocky stick is finally snapped and devoured, rewarding herself for a job well done.

    She saunters back over towards Kunzite where he holds the still-struggling Naru. As she passes, she spies the bowl of noodles with a cube on it. Her spear comes down, snapping over the edge of the bowl and sending it spinning straight up. Centrifugal force keeps the noodles in the bowl beyond all expectations, and she snaps her hand out and catches it, perfectly upright, noodles still inside, and grief cube still perched on top.

    She produces chopsticks from somewhere in a pocket, banishes her spear, and (after carefully chopsticking the cube into her pocket), is munching on noodles as she approaches them. "Nice work, nii-chan. Thanks. Calm down Naru-chan, I think we're good. Want some noodles?"

Homura Akemi has posed:
    The Wraiths are taken care of, Naru seems mostly alright, (alright enough to kick and punch Kunzite anyways) and-- Homura checks --Yup! Today is still awesome. She pulls out her handful of cubes, counts them, counts the fallen ones, and walks over to grab a few more. No timestop this time.

    "Well. That went well enough. Is everyone alright? No one's hurt?" Homura glances around at the others present. There are, of course, noodles everywhere, and Homura has somehow (perhaps infuriatingly) managed to avoid almost all of them. She sees others actually wanting to eat the noodles, gives them all a look and backpedals away from the cart for a few steps.

    Her bow vanishes, and her hands clasp behind her back. "I wonder what kind of story we'll see on the news about this. Any bets on gas explosion?"

Kunzite has posed:
No-one hurt? Well, financially, maybe. The owner of the cart. Kunzite, who is as splattered as someone near the center of the noodleplosion might be expected to be, glances down at Naru -- lets his sword vanish again, and uses both hands to turn her upright and settle her on her feet again, stabilizing her as necessary. And, yes, letting her punch him a little if it takes her that long to figure out what's going on. "Naru? Did they have a chance to target you?" Given the lack of apparent blood, that seems the most immediate question.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon jerks her head up at Homura, her face white and expression one of abject horror. "The news?! But Daddy covers the news! He's gonna--!"

Deeeeep breath.

She takes the wraith cubes she picked up and sorts them equally, handing a small fistful to Homura. Kyouko gets a handful as well! Along with one of the bowls of ramen she managed to rescue.

"If you guys see Daddy, tell him you know me, yeah? He kinda...well...knows I'mma check on Naru-chan bye guys I love you!"

She races toward Kunzite and Naru both. She picks up the bookbag and starts fluttering around the two of them. Maybe even hovering. And crying. And covered in noodle guts.

Really. This has been a rotten, no good, very bad day.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Set back on her feet, Naru does take another swing at Kunzite, needing that stability as she reorients herself. She nods to his question, the movement making a few more noodles rain down from her hair down onto her shirt, apparently not quite trusting her voice yet. As the anger slowly settles out of her, there's a disconcerting lack of other emotions taking its place. She glances towards the tear filled Sailor Moon a moment, watching her book bag get rescued.

"Different this time." She answers, her voice level, dispassionate. "Because of before. The healed part barely held at all." While her voice is terribly calm, Kunzite can feel her shivering, immaterial of the fact that its summertime, and quite a lovely evening, weather wise.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Homura." Kyouko greets the other Puella around a mouthful of noodles as the dark-haired girl walks over. She swallows, then points with her chopsticks. "My money's on 'gang high on PCP'." She seems friendly enough towards the girl- seems like when there are plenty of Grief Cubes to go around, and no other circumstances, she is happy enough to be civil.

    Speaking of, she accepts the Cubes that Moon hands her with a smile. "Hey, Moonie, thanks. Nice Wraith-punchin' back there-" She starts to say more, but panicky-Moon is already dashing off back towards Kunzite and Naru, and she sighs slightly. "Ah.. well." Another mouthful of noodles.

    She stays back, standing near Homura and letting Kunzite and Moon tend to Naru. 'Comforting' has never been one of her strong suits, regardless of what Momo might say, nor is battlefield triage. A slight frown of concern creeps across her face as she observes Naru's unnatural sudden calmness though.

    "Man, I'm startin' to really hate these effing things." She mutters, meaning the Wraiths. "I mean, I'll take 'em over nothing at all, but this emotion-eating stuff.. gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Homura gleefully accepts a handful of Grief Cubes from Usagi with an almost singsongy, "Thank you~." Then she glances at the Grief Cube topped bowl of ramen handed to Kyouko and snerks. She beams in the other Puella's direction for a moment before remembering that they are totally badass hardcore rivals and she should probably put on some kind of serious face. She maintains her stone cold poker face for about half a second before she forgets that she isn't supposed to smile. Hey if Kyouko can be friendly then so can Homura. "PCP, huh? You know, I could almost see it."

    Then she hears what Usagi says, about her father knowing, and then Homura no longer has to 'fake' a serious face. Her countenance drops, and she tilts her head. "Huh? What do you mean he knows? Like... about..."

    Well yeah. What did you think she meant, Homura?

    Homura blankstares at Usagi, head tilted to the side, not really sure what to make of that news. She knows that Usagi is distressed, that much is obvious, but there isn't much she can say.

    Homura... isn't that good at dealing with parents, frankly. She has her realms of expertise that she takes great pride in, but this is not one of them.

    "Love you too, Usa-chan. I'll remember that, and I'll keep an eye out for him. I um... hope things work out for you. Let me know if you need anything."

    Homura thinks to say something else, and feels like she should, but she's tempted to think that Usagi might just want to be with her oldest friend for a bit.

    She does make a mental note, if ever she does run across Usagi's dad, to brag like hell about Sailor Moon. Whether or not she'll be subtle about it... eh... she'll decide that when the time comes.

    Kyouko's standing next to her, while Naru, Kunzite, and Moon are huddled together. Homura frowns and nods at Kyouko's displeasure. "I don't like them either. For our ends I'm glad they exist, but hell if they aren't disturbing. I guess that's all the more reason to kill them quickly."

Kunzite has posed:
More resources for Homura and Kyouko, at less cost. Hopefully the cart owner had insurance. If not -- well. Maybe they'll worry about it later. At the moment, Kunzite's attention is somewhere else -- glancing at Kyouko and Homura just long enough to be certain they're not about to start a fight of their own. And ... only taking one hand from Naru's shoulder.

"You had a package, didn't you? Did you see where it went?" he asks Naru. "Otherwise --" He glances toward the incoming Usagi. "I need to take her back to the apartment. Standing orders. I don't know if Endymion's in good enough shape to deal with it, but he'll try anyhow; you know him. So he'll need people to watch and stop him if he's about to do himself damage. Coming with, or taking the long way?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There's no doubt that Usagi would call them both up, most likely at the ungodliest hour of the night, and spew out apologies for ten minutes.

But for now, she's very on edge. That look in Naru's eye just isn't...right. It's too much like that time with the curse, yet she doubts she can fix it just as easily.

There's a long, heavy blink when she turns to Kunzite, needing a moment to process what he said.

Her shoulders droop despairingly. "Um, yeah. I'll take a lift. Thanks."

She makes a bet with herself. She's pretty sure she can stay there at least ten minutes before it's apparent to everyone her emotional state just isn't helping anything.

She pulls out her phone but doesn't unlock the screen.

She wonders if Rei would be annoyed if she had a sudden houseguest who just wanted to sleep and cuddle for the next year.

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am not a fan." Naru comments into the conversation about Wraiths provided by the two puella. Somehow, all the more emphatic for the level tone she uses to comment with.

"I dropped it. I can get more art supplies later. I probably won't need them for a while." Naru answers Kunzite's very practical query. "Or it is under the noodles." The fact that Naru isn't upset over lost art supplies, or the fact that she doesn't think she'll need them for a while isn't likely going to help Usagi's emotional state. "It's okay. It'll heal." She tries to tell Kunzite, although she's not pulling away from the single hand he's got keeping her still.

Kyouko Sakura has posed:
    "Yeaaaah, so apparently Usagi's dad found out she's Sailor Moon, and stuff." Kyouko asides to Homura. "Luckily so far it's gone better for her than when my dad found out I had powers." This said with a rueful twist of the lips. Long enough ago that she can refer to it without collapsing into tearful self-loathing, at the very least.

    She nods to Homura's assessment of Wraiths, then raises a hand in farewell to the other Puella as she tosses the now-empty noddle-bowl into a bush. "I'll get it." She comments towards Naru and Kunzite. A bit of rooting around in the mess and she recovers the bag with the canvasses and stuff. It'll need to be dumped outside, but at least they're wrapped in plastic in the bag so chances are most of them will be okay.. whenever Naru is ready to use them.

    She holds the bag up, shaking a few noodles off of it. "I'll ah.. just take this back to the apartment for you, Naru-chan." She says, with a concilliatory tone.

    Her gaze shifts to Kunzite. "Meet you guys back there?"

    She flashes what is meant to be a reassuring smile at the distraught Moon... then leaps upwards, catching the lip of a roof overhead before scrambling up and heading off towards the ECFH, carrying Naru's art supplies.

Homura Akemi has posed:
    Rei wouldn't mind cuddling for that long but grandpa might start getting annoying about it. As for Homura, any late-night calls from Usagi would probably be responded to by a sleepy voiced Homura softly and quietly trying to reassure her that everything's fine and there's nothing to apologize for. Homura certainly doesn't fault her for having feelings or caring about her friends.

    To Kyouko, Homura listens. She recalls the story from previous timelines, and winces a bit when it's mentioned. Not so much reacting in pity but certainly in sympathy. "I have no idea how my parents would react. I like it better that they don't know much about my life."

    Homura waves to Kyouko after overhearing Naru's comments about missing art supplies, and her own eyes start looking all over for them. It's probably not the best search method. Homura feels sorry for Naru, but it's slowly starting to dawn on her that finding the art supplies isn't actually going to make her feel better, and Kyouko seems to have found them anyways.

    With a shake of her head, Homura says, "Sorry. We got to them as quick as we could, but they still managed to..."

    With an awkward laugh and a toothy, apologetic grin, Homura says, "At least it'll heal! I mean. It has before, right?"

    Kyouko splits off, and Homura could and should probably go back on patrols, but the thought of visiting old friends in the ECFH is tempting.

Kunzite has posed:
"You left instructions while you were in your right mind," Kunzite says evenly to Naru. "We'll keep an eye on him." Since Endymion isn't entirely in his right mind right now, either. He keeps his hand on Naru's shoulder, reaches out for Moon's. "Thank you, Kyouko."

He inclines his head to Homura once, whether she's following or not, and then his shadows swarm up around the trio and they're gone.

... so, incidentally, are some of the noodles. The posted rules in the apartment will not entirely cover this situation.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
And so begins the tale that will haunt and follow Usagi to the end of her days.

For though it is not as bad as the original incident, The Noodle Incident Redux is, indeed, an incident to tease about.